Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal and 14 More of the Highest-Paid Tennis Players, Ranked
Wimbledon opens June 27 in London, with Rafael Nadal of Spain halfway to the calendar year Grand Slam. He's already won this year's two major tournaments - the Australian Open and the French Open - giving him 22 career Grand Slam victories for his career.
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Nadal is the No. 2 seed for the tournament, and the No. 1 seed, longtime rival Novak Djokovic, will be seeking his career 21st victory in a major. And there are plenty of men in the field with dreams of knocking off the all-time greats and capturing their own Grand Slam title.
On the women's side, world No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland is the top seed, but all eyes will be on Serena Williams, who is making her return to tennis after a year away due to injury.
Along the way, a whole lot of money will be made both on the court and off as the world's greatest tennis players make both their talent and their star power pay.
Grigor Dimitrov
Net Worth: $12 million
Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov is currently ranked No. 21 on the ATP Tour. He gained attention in 2014 when he defeated Scotland's Andy Murray in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. That same year, he advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, where he ultimately lost to Rafael Nadal. In 2017, Dimitrov made his way back to the Australian Open semifinals, where he again lost to Nadal. Although he hasn't won a Gram Slam title, he has eight singles titles and career earnings of $21.4 million.
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Garbiñe Muguruza
Net Worth: $12 million
Spanish tennis player Garbiñe Muguruza is currently ranked No. 10 among women tennis players. Muguruza rose to fame in 2015 when she won a WTA title, finished No. 3 overall and was runner-up at Wimbledon against Serena Williams. About a year later, she defeated Williams to win the French Open in 2016. She then defeated Venus Williams in the 2017 Wimbledon title match to claim her second Grand Slam victory.
Over the course of her career, Muguruza has won 10 tournaments and earned more than $24.3 million in prize money. She became an ambassador for Mazda Spain and BBVA in 2014.
Dominic Thiem
Net Worth: $14 million
Dominic Thiem was on the upswing, having risen to No. 3 in the world in March 2020. He competed in the finals of a Grand Slam in three straight years - the French Open in 2018 and 2019, and the Australian Open in 2020 - before breaking through to win his first major, the 2020 U.S. Open. But his career has been at a standstill for a year because of a wrist injury sustained in competition in June 2021.
The Austrian has won 17 career tournaments and nearly $29 million. According to Forbes, he has endorsed brands like Adidas, Rolex, and Red Bull.
Daniil Medvedev
Net Worth: $16 million
World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev won't be competing at Wimbledon due to the All England Club's ban on players from Russia and Belarus this year, barred because of the invasion of Ukraine. Nonetheless, he's had a big year, becoming the first man not named Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray or Rafael Nadal to assume the No. 1 spot since 2004.
He has 13 career titles and $24.1 million in earnings. He'll be in New York in September to defend his U.S. Open title. The U.S. Tennis Association announced it will not take action against Russians or Belarusians, but they must compete under a neutral flag.
Sloane Stephens
Net Worth: $20 million
Sloane Stephens' career took off in 2011 when she was the youngest player to debut in the Top 100 that year. From 2013 to 2016, Stephens quickly solidified herself as a force in the tennis world, facing powerhouses Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. But in 2017, the tennis star gained worldwide recognition when she won her first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open just 11 months after returning from a foot injury.
Stephens' win at the U.S. Open added millions to her bank account -- she received $3.7 million in prize money. Overall, Stephens has won seven tournaments and $16.9 million in career prize money. A popular endorser, she currently is working with companies that include Icy Hot, Fresh N Lean and Whoop.
Petra Kvitová
Net Worth: $24 million
Czech star Petra Kvitová has won $33.9 million in prize money throughout her career. The powerhouse left-hander, currently ranked No. 31, has won two Wimbledon titles and 28 singles titles. But as successful as Kvitová is, her career almost ended in 2016 when she was injured in a knife attack that severely damaged her hand. Prior to that, she climbed to world No. 2 in October 2011.
Kei Nishikori
Net Worth: $24 million
One of the best-known male players in Asia, Kei Nishikori of Japan is a 12-time ATP World Tour winner and once was ranked as high as No. 4 in the world. Nishikori has won $25.1 million in prize money throughout his career.
He earned $32.1 million in 2020, according to Forbes, thanks to partnerships with companies like Nissin, Procter & Gamble and Japan Airlines. He has his own branded Jaguar, his own noodles and his own non-alcoholic beer. At the U.S. Open in 2014, he became the first native Asian player to reach the finals of a Grand Slam.
Simona Halep
Net Worth: $30 million
Although she's fallen to No. 19 in the world rankings, Simona Halep was never out of the top five between 2014 and 2020. She won Wimbledon in 2019, the French Open in 2018 and was runner-up to Caroline Wozniacki at the Australian Open that same year. She's also earned an impressive 23 WTA singles titles, six of which she won in 2013.
A few years back, she dropped her endorsement with Adidas and signed with Nike in a deal reportedly worth $2 million. Halep has won a total of nearly $39 million in prize money.
Angelique Kerber
Net Worth: $30 million
German-born Angelique Kerber has won 14 WTA singles titles and three Grand Slam titles, including both the Australian and U.S. Open in 2016, and Wimbledon in 2018. She has earned $31.7 million in prize money.
She has had endorsement deals with Adidas, Yonex, Generali, Porsche and Lavazza. In its look at the earnings of female tennis players in 2020, Forbes reported her off-court earnings at $4 million that year.
Naomi Osaka
Net Worth: $45 million
In May 2020, Forbes reported that Naomi Osaka had eclipsed the great Serena Williams as the highest-earning female athlete in the world when the then-22-year-old earned $37.4 million compared to Serena's $36 million. And she hasn't looked back. On Forbes' 2022 list of the highest-earning athletes, Osaka was No. 19 overall with earnings of $59.2 million.
The former world No. 1 player, Osaka has seven career wins -- four of them Grand Slam titles -- but she has decided to skip Wimbledon this season. She has become astute at building her brand, and in May 2022, she started her own sports agency, Evolve. While Osaka is the headliner, other athletes will be represented by Evolve, which aims to help athletes with brand partnership, business creation, investments and philanthropy.
Venus Williams
Net Worth: $95 million
Venus Williams and her younger, sister, Serena became forces on the tennis tour and in the endorsement circle soon after they hit the pro circuit in the mid-1990s. The 42-year-old Venus is not on the field at Wimbledon this year.
Venus Williams has won seven major titles, including five Wimbledon victories and two at the U.S. Open. Her corporate sponsorships have included Kraft, EA, Wilson, Tide, and Ralph Lauren, according to Forbes.
Andy Murray
Net Worth: $100 million
Injuries have slowed Andy Murray over the past few years, but he remains a force on the court and in earning power.
In 2013, he made history as the first male Brit since 1936 to win Wimbledon. He returned in 2016 to take home the Wimbledon trophy for a second time when he defeated Milos Raonic.
Murray has earned $62.8 million in prize money and his brand deals have included Under Armour, Standard Life, Head and Jaguar, according to Forbes.
Rafael Nadal
Net Worth: $220 million
As the No. 4-ranked men's tennis player in the world, Rafael Nadal has joined his rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in dominating 21st-century tennis so thoroughly that only a smattering of other men has been able to win anything worth winning in the last 15 years or so. He has won the first two Grand Slam tournaments of 2022, the Australian Open and the French Open. He has 22 Grand Slam titles to his credit, more than any man in history.
The Spaniard has won $130.7 million over the course of his two-decade career, according to Spotrac. But, Forbes reported, he earns nearly double his on-court pay through corporate contracts and celebrity endorsement deals, which include partnerships with Nike, Kia and Santander.
Novak Djokovic
Net Worth: $220 million
Novak Djokovic has won 20 majors, which ties him with his rival Roger Federer and puts him two behind Rafael Nadal for the most ever. Three of those victories were the 2021 French Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon.
In February 2022, Djokovic lost his hold on the No. 1 ranking in the world, surpassed - at least briefly - by Russian Daniil Medvedev. To that point, Djokovic had held the position for 361 weeks throughout his career - the equivalent of about seven years.
Djokovic has earned $156.5 million on the court, more than any other player in history.
Serena Williams
Net Worth: $250 million
Serena Williams returns to Wimbledon seeking her eighth title at the famed venue in London. She hasn't played on tour since sustaining a right leg injury in the first round of the tournament in 2021.
Serena's 23 Grand Slam titles rank second to Australia's Margaret Court among women. Her $94.5 million in career earnings top all women in on-court winnings and is double that of the No. 2 earner, which is her sister, Venus Williams, according to Spotrac. With $45.3 million in pay, Serena ranked No. 31 on the Forbes list of highest-earning athletes for 2022. All but $300,000 came from endorsements and her businesses, including her investment in startups through Serena ventures, Forbes reported.
Roger Federer
Net Worth: $550 million
Roger Federer just might be the best male tennis player ever to walk onto the court -- but his status as a cash cow goes way beyond just tennis. On Forbes' 2022 list of the highest-paid athletes in the world across all sports, he ranked No. 7, despite not playing a match after June 2021 because of a lingering knee injury that required surgery. In his $90.7 million in earnings in the past year, only $700,000 of it came from the court, per Forbes.
The lion's share of his riches comes from endorsement deals, including those with Wilson, Mercedes-Benz, Rolex and Uniqlo. On the court, he's won $130.6 million and 103 titles, including 20 Grand Slam championships. He has won Wimbledon eight times but will miss this year's event as his recovery continues.
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Jami Farkas and Taylor Bell contributed to the reporting for this article.
Net worth figures were sourced from Celebrity Net Worth unless otherwise noted.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal and 14 More of the Highest-Paid Tennis Players, Ranked
